I've recently updated my local installation of Ubuntu to Lucid, which is the not-quite-done development version of the much loved (and employer sponsored) operating system. I see a lot of good stuff along with a few quirky bits1, so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

The Me Menu in Lucid

This is what is being referred to as the Me Menu. It's in the top right hand corner of my screen (by default) and this is an image of what happens when I click on my name in the panel.

Super Great

I love the tiny text box which connects to my twitter account. It's a really convenient way to update my status.

Any text you do enter stays there until you clear it, or press Return (which sends it to the social networks you have setup in Gwibber), which is really cool for people like me that sometime have to edit down their updates quite a bit.

I also like the idea of having my instant messaging status (that's the "Available, Away, Busy..." part) be in a nearby place to my social networking status.

Confusing

The text input box is a really strange size considering it would primarily be used for what I'm calling "social networking status updates". I'm not sure what the average is for these, but the current max for Twitter is 140 characters, which wouldn't be visible in this menu.

I'm also confused by the description "Broadcast Accounts". I've asked a few people, and I'm not sure what a better phrase might be, but broadcast is not a commonly used term to describe Twitter, Facebook & Identi.ca accounts. Social networks seems to be the most commonly used.

While I'm a big fan of Ubuntu One (partly because it's my day job) I'm not sure how it fits into this menu. The social network bits and instant messaging bits seem to work so well together I'm having a hard time making the conceptual jump to Ubuntu One, perhaps because of the asynchronous nature of the sharing parts of our service.

Another Random Thought

I'd love to see a unified view of my instant messaging contacts with their availability and my social networking contacts and their updates.

1. I get that Lucid is not yet done. See the todo list on the [previously linked blueprint of work for the Me Menu](https://blueprints.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/dx-lucid-me-menu) if you'd like confirmation of that. I'm also not trying to disparage anyone's hard work, in fact, Lucid is a really promising release from a group of amazing people, I'm just trying to find a healthy way to voice my opinion, so that I can be a part of the great work that is happening.